John Boyega to Lead the Fight in ‘Pacific Rim 2’

Development continues on Pacific Rim 2, the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s mildly successful sci-fi feature about giant robots called Jaegers fighting against a race of enormous creatures from another dimension. Former Daredevil showrunning Steven S. DeKnight will direct the sequel from a script by Jurassic World screenwriter Derek Connolly, and THR is reporting that Star Wars: The Force Awakens star John Boyega has been cast in the leading role.

Boyega will portray the son of Stacker Pentecost, the military commander portrayed by Idris Elba in the original film. In a statement, del Toro praised the young actor’s talents and welcomed him to the role:

“I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox. The Pacific Rim universe will be reinforced with him as a leading man as it continues to be a multicultural, multi-layered world. ‘The World saving the world’ was our goal and I couldn’t think of a better man for the job.”

Boyega also confirmed the casting via his Twitter feed:

I'll be taking on the Pacific Rim franchise with Steven S.Deknight directing. Very excited!

No word yet on how much time may have passed between the events of the first film and the upcoming sequel, or whether any cast members from Pacific Rim will be returning for another round. Back when del Toro was still attached as director, there were rumors that both Charlie Day and Ron Perlman would be reprising their roles, but with a new script in play that may have changed.

Pacific Rim 2 will likely begin production late this year or early next year. No release date has been scheduled at this time.